Big Brother
by snowflake-shona
Summary: The unexpected arrival of a sibling stirs up much trouble in Atlantis. Many want to send them back, others need them to stay. Who will win? Or will the decision be made for them?
1. Chapter 1

**Big Brother**

**Summary: **The unexpected arrival of a sibling stirs up much trouble in Atlantis. Many want to send them back, others need them to stay. Who will win? Or will the decision be made for them?

**Rating: **PG-13

**Spoilers: **Season Two of Stargate Atlantis after 'Critical Mass' with minor spoilers for Season Three Episode 'McKay and Mrs Miller'. BEWARE OF MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything to do with MGM, 'Stargate SG-1' or 'Stargate Atlantis'. These characters aren't mine (pity! Imagine the fun I could have!) So don't sue me!

* * *

**BIG BROTHER  
Chapter One**

By Snowflake Shona

Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Caldwell walked the 'streets' of Atlantis on his approach to see Dr Elizabeth Weir. 'This is going to be interesting to explain', he thought as he walked. Behind him, an escort of six Daedalus marines followed, fully armed. This was going to be impossible to explain.

The ride back to Atlantis had started off normally enough, with everyone accounted for. So how could he allow this happen? What will they think of him? They were all still sceptical of him since that Goa'uld incident, so this was just like adding acid to a wound!

Elizabeth Weir was where she usually stood, in the middle of the command centre, with Sheppard one side and McKay the other, bending down to work on a computer. Caldwell glared at McKay. He had a bone to pick with him.

"Colonel Caldwell," Elizabeth greeted him. Beside her, Sheppard nodded an acknowledgement, while McKay still concentrated on the computer screen. "I'm glad your safely back."

"Thank you. But it wasn't uneventful," he commented.

"Yes, but you weren't very explicit earlier. You have something to show us?" Weir said, quizzically.

"Indeed I have. But I believe it belongs to you Dr McKay."

"Me?" McKay said standing up and looking confused.

"Hey! I don't belong to anyone, least of all him!"

Rodney's face was horror strickened as Caldwell backed away to reveal a woman in her thirties with short black hair in the middle of the armed men. She was wearing the green Daedalus crew uniform, and her hands were bound with white plastic cuffs.

"Janine?"

"Hey big brother."

The eyes of everyone around shot between the two. That is apart from Caldwell, who knew perfectly well who she was. She had told him several times on the ship. Rodney was too shocked to make any sense of the situation.

"How?... What?... Er?... How?" he spluttered.

"That's what I'd like to know," Caldwell said turning to her.

"What can I say? Being a genius runs in the family," she retorted.

* * *

Janine was sitting in the chair in Weir's office will being guarded although only by two now. She was swinging round on the office chair. One direction then the other. Caldwell and the Atlantis crew were in the conference room.

"How did she get on board the Daedalus?" Weir asked Caldwell.

"I honestly don't know. She had the proper identification, she knew her way around the ship and its systems. She worked as a junior technician for five days before we noticed. She even came over and talked to me," Caldwell explained.

"You mean she knew everything?" Weir said concerned.

"Yes. And there is only place she could have got that sort of information," Caldwell said turning towards McKay.

"Don't look at me! I did not tell her anything. Which annoyed her greatly," McKay protested.

"This key card looks exactly like the ones we use. And you say it has a high security level encoded on it?" Weir asked examining the key card.

"Same security level as McKay," Caldwell pointed out.

"I did not tell her _anything_," McKay repeated.

"How else did she get the information," Major Lorne added.

"I don't know. Maybe from someone else." McKay insisted.

"Like the Trust?"

"No! She wouldn't consort with them," McKay said. "Let me have a look at this key card."

Weir passed the card along to McKay who examined the outside carefully, before putting it into his computer and examining the contents. The conversation continued without him.

"What do we do with her? She knows everything now. We can't just send her back?" Caldwell asked.

"That's exactly what we do," Major Lorne said. "She's a security risk here. The proper authorities will deal with her back on Earth."

"The little bitch!" Rodney screamed, got up and ran out towards Weir's office. They all followed, curious. Rodney slammed the door open and stood directly in front of Janine.

"You little bitch! You stole my key card!" he accused her. "And then used the forgery programme _I _made to copy it!"

"You left it just sitting there," Janine explained.

"I can't believe you!" Rodney exclaimed, clearly upset.

"Forgery programme?" Sheppard highlighted. Rodney pretended that he hadn't heard, but Janine was quite happy to fill the gap.

"He made it when we were kids. I made a killing in high school with fake IDs."

"Why?" Rodney asked returning to the conversation.

"You once said that if you want to keep something hidden, hide it in clear sight. I couldn't help it. I saw it and knew that it contained where you had been for a year, without one word. So yeah, I took, and used it to make my own."

"She used _your_ forgery programme to copy _your_ key card?" Sheppard once again highlighted.

"That's not the issue here," Rodney dismissed.

"What is the issue?" Janine challenged.

"How could you do this?" Rodney said angrily.

"How could you abandon me without even a goodbye?" she said standing, very upset. "I went through hell. I didn't know what had happened to you. I was so worried and I got no useful word from the military. So when I saw you and you said nothing I knew the card held all the answers to my questions, I couldn't help myself. I wanted to know what was more important to you than your family. Admittedly I wasn't expecting this, but if it works for you."

"Well, it doesn't matter because you're not staying," Lorne announced. Janine looked at him.

"Really?"

"Yes. You are going straight back to Earth and prosecuted there."

"I don't think so," she said with a sly grin across her face.

"No. Don't you dare," Rodney warned her.

"Dare what?" Sheppard asked.

"Put it this way Major," she said walking towards Lorne. "You can try and send me back, but the second you do, a computer programme will activate sending all the files I had to every newsroom across the globe."

"That," Rodney despaired.

"And I have enough evidence to convince even the most sceptical minds," she reinforced.

"You can't do that," Sheppard said.

"Oh I am more than capable of doing that, just ask my brother. And I haven't signed a confidentiality agreement, so you can't stop me either," she said sitting back down in the chair. "Unless I stay here."

Lorne stood there for a moment, exchanging looks with Janine, and then turned to Rodney. "Dr McKay, a word, NOW!" and he stormed out. Rodney looked at his sister and shook his head.

"It's like sixth grade all over again," he sighed and followed Lorne outside.

"Can she do what she threatens?" he asked quietly.

"I taught her everything I know," McKay replied.

"I'll take that as a yes," Lorne understood. Rodney nodded. "Dr Weir, I believe we should keep her monitored and confined. Who knows what damage she could do if she got her hands on a computer."

"Hey! She's not here to cause trouble. Not to you anyways," he said defensively.

"How do you know she's not working with the Trust?" Lorne argued.

"I don't," Rodney said rejected.

"But I do," Caldwell spoke up. "The doctors on board the Daedalus gave her a full scan and blood work up and all results came out negative."

"I still want her under armed guard," Lorne insisted.

"Agreed," Weir said. Rodney shot a look at her. "Just for now. Until we figure out what to do with her."

* * *

Janine McKay sat on the bed of her new room waiting for her visitor. Two guards were waiting outside her room. Not that she thought they would trust her yet, but the idea of two men stationed outside her door definitely intrigued her. Where they there to protect her or the city? She understood their concerns but surely they won't send her back. Will they?

She needed to know. That's why she requested his presence. Maybe he will tell her. It was a long shot – he was still angry with her – but she was confident that she could break that hard exterior. The door slid open to reveal her visitor.

"Colonel Caldwell, I'm glad you agreed to my invitation," she said with a beaming smile.

"How can I help you Miss McKay?" he said in a cold and strained manner.

"Well you could get me out of here, for starters," she quipped.

He laughed, and said as he turned to walk out, "Well, if that's everything..."

"Stephen," she called to him. He stopped but did not turn back around. "On the Daedalus you interrogated me for days on end. And during that time, we started a game of chess." Caldwell turned around. "We never finished. What do you say?"

She pointed towards a chess board fully set up, with some pieces moved or removed depending on where they were left last time they played.

"And if you leave now that means I win. Could you really cope losing to a girl?"

"Well, if you put it that way," Caldwell said and sat down opposite the white pieces.

"Your move colonel," she reminded him.

"I know, I'm just thinking," he answered, concentrating on the board. After a few minutes, with not a word spoken between them, Caldwell moved his bishop. Now Janine stood up to the challenge.

"By the way, thanks for agreeing to play with me. I was a little surprised that you did," she commented as she contemplated her move.

"How could I refuse such an offer?" he teased. "Anyways, with the Daedalus under repairs, I have little else to do."

"So I'm just a way to kill time? Thanks," she answered sarcastically.

"Well, the company isn't all that bad," he added. She smiled without looking up from the board. She finally decided on a move, and moved her rook three squares to the right. Happy with it, she sat back in her chair, and continued talking to Caldwell.

"I'm glad you did come though. I thought you'd still be mad about the whole sneaking on board thing."

"I was never that mad about that. What I was mad about is you making a fool of me." Janine was about to ask how when Caldwell answered. "You came over to me and we had a long conversation about improvements to the ships systems. You'd think I'd be able to recognise my own crew."

"There are over a hundred people on board. You can't be expected to know everyone by name and face," Janine argued. Caldwell shook his head and moved his piece.

"Do you know what annoys me the most?" Caldwell explained. "Those ideas for the ships systems were actually good. I mean the new conversion equation beats McKay's and we could save so much power. But I can't implement them as they were your ideas."

"And now I'm the enemy." Caldwell did not need to answer, she knew that was how people saw her. But her silence certainly confirmed it.

"I understand you know. I didn't expect people to welcome me, but I just hope they can learn to trust me. Like you did on the Daedalus," she said moving another of her pieces. Caldwell didn't answer her. "Why did you agree to play chess with me on the Daedalus?"

"After our first meeting, I realised you weren't going to give me any information just by asking you to. I thought that you may tell me who you were and how you did it."

"Is that why you agreed now?" she asked intrigued.

"Of course not. Now I need to know what you're planning to do," he quipped.

"Ha! You didn't succeed on the Daedalus, what makes you think you will now?" she challenged.

Caldwell smiled a cheeky smile, leaned in and moved his queen across the board, right to the edge, and placed it carefully down.

"Checkmate," he said triumphantly. He stood up with a smirk on his face as she watched Janine frantically search the board to discover how he did it.

"Are you going to tell me what you're planning?" he asked standing in the doorway.

"Are you going to tell what they're going to do with me," she retorted.

"See you tomorrow then," Caldwell said leaving.

"Same time," she quietly said as she leaned back in her chair watching Caldwell leave and the doors quietly close behind him, leaving her, once again, trapped in her room.

* * *

It had been almost a week since Janine arrived, and Rodney had been worried sick. He knew this would effect him whatever decision Elizabeth made, but he prayed that she would not send her back. He had grown to like the idea of his little sister living here in Atlantis. It was a refreshing change. Someone who really challenged him. Zelenka was good, but there was something different about the way Janine thought that made her almost as good as him.

So here he stood, or more paced, outside the conference room where, inside, Elizabeth and Major Lorne were discussing the future for Janine. After an agonising half an hour wait, the doors turned open, and Major Lorne exited by the side exit. Without pretending that he was waiting or waiting for an invite, Rodney charged inside and positioned himself in front of Elizabeth.

"Well?" Rodney impatiently asked.

"Come on in Rodney," Elizabeth quipped.

"Elizabeth please," Rodney said, his emotions in torture.

"Rodney, Major Lorne and I have agreed that she is a security risk…" she started. However, she could not finish as Rodney hit the roof.

"Elizabeth how could you? She is an innocent woman. OK her method of getting her left little to be desired but you can't send her back. You know that they will do to her. She could be so useful…"Rodney argued, almost ranted.

"You're right Rodney," Elizabeth jumped in when he took a breath.

"You can't say that! Wait… what?" Rodney stuttered.

"I have decided to give her a chance. We are always looking for new technicians, especially ones that can work with you," Elizabeth told him. She could see the relief spreading across his face as it sunk it. "She will be your responsibility. If she pulls anything…" Elizabeth warned.

"It'll be both our heads on the chopping boards, got it," Rodney understood.

"Find her something to do. Major Lorne has requested that she has restricted access to the computer system. She cannot be able to access any of the major systems."

"That limits what I can give her to," Rodney said. "But I'm sure I can find something."

"Then go and tell her the good news," Elizabeth said dismissing him.

Rodney was so excited that not only did he almost fall over the chair that was directly behind him, but he ran into Dr Beckett nearly knocking him over.

"What's he in such a rush for?" Carson commented as he entered with a file in his hand.

"Going to tell Miss McKay she can stay," Elizabeth explained.

"Oh that's good news," Carson said with a beaming smile across his face.

"Is that her lab results?" Elizabeth asked as she nodded at the file in his hands.

"It is, and may I say, it's very interesting."

"Anything I should worry about?" Elizabeth asked concerned.

"Oh no. She's got a bit of flu but that's about it," he informed her. "What's interesting is her DNA."

"Interesting? How?" Elizabeth said leaning in close. "You're not going to tell me they're not related," she pressed for gossip.

"Nothing as bad as that, but certainly something that will annoy Rodney," he teased. "She has the ancient gene."

* * *

Rodney was working on the main control panel as a team entered through the gate. It was Major Lorne's team coming back from a reconnaissance mission to an uninhabited planet. It seems stable enough and an initial survey shows no signs of active habitation in the last hundred years. Rodney marks it down as one of the possible locations of a Beta site, although an extensive survey would be required before they reached that level.

Rodney looked up and saw Janine being escorted to the main control room. He nodded to her and finished off what he was doing. She stood patiently waiting for him, looking around the room at all the different control panels. Her escort stood behind, his eyes always on her, like he was waiting for her to do something. Finally Rodney finished and greeted his sister with a hug. He looked to the escort.

"You're dismissed," he said a formally as he could. When the escort did not make any inclination of moving Rodney got very annoyed. "You heard."

"Actually brother, he's not going anywhere. It procedure," Janine explained. "His name is Airman Kevin Baker. He's nice although a Cowboys fan, but we can forgive him for that. It's only temporary."

The escort smiled at the comment. However, Rodney did not take this lightly accepting the airman for now – he planned to talk to Elizabeth about this – and walked his sister to her new lab, right opposite his. As they entered they found Carson Beckett waiting for her.

"Hello my dear. How are you today?" he asked in his usual chirpy Scottish accent.

"I'm ok, just a little fuzzy-headed," she replied.

"These ought to help," he said handing her a box of cold and flu relief tablets.

"Thank you," she thanked him, smiling.

"Well," Rodney said, butting in. "If that's everything…"

"Actually Rodney, it's not. I have something to tell you wee lass. I don't know how much you know about ancient technology but you required a special gene to use it. And it would appear that you have this gene," he explained.

"What? That's impossible!" Rodney exploded. "How can she have the gene when I didn't? I thought you said it was passed down within families?"

"Aye, I did. There is no explanation. She has the gene and it's strong. Not as strong as Colonel Sheppard's, but stronger than anyone else on the base." Rodney raised an eyebrow while Janine raised her hand.

"What are you on about?"

"The Ancients, the builders of this city, used a special gene to use the technology," Carson explained.

"Wasn't that explained in the files that you stole?" Rodney retorted.

"Probably, but grammar was never your strong point," Janine quipped.

"Would a medical team please come to the gate room," a voice over the tannoy announced.

"That's me. Talk to you soon Janine. If you need anything…" Carson started as he got up.

"She'll ask me," Rodney finished protectively. Carson smiled at Janine and left. When they were alone, Janine whacked Rodney on the arm.

"That was not nice. He was just being helpful," she said defending Carson.

"Sure," Rodney said sceptically.

"So this is my new lab then?" she said looking around.

"Yeah, and this your new project," Rodney said leaning against a control panel similar to the ones in the main control room.

"What does it do?" Janine asked.

"That's what I want you to find out." Janine glared at him, seemingly annoyed and reading his mind. "I know it seems like a baby job but we just don't have the time to go through all the machinery around here. It might be important," he added hoping it would improve her mind. "I want you to analyse it then report to Dr Weir and I."

"On what? I'm not allowed to use a computer am I?" she pointed out. Rodney walked over to the side and picked up a laptop.

"This is my personal laptop. You can use this for now. Just be careful, I have things on there I want," he warned her. "It has all the programmes you will need to complete this, and if you need anything else, just ask."

"How long do I have to do this?"

"As long as it takes but as always," Rodney started.

"…the sooner the better," she finished disheartened.

He handed her the laptop and left her with it. On the side along with the laptop was a series of files on the other control panels and general systems in Atlantis. It seemed like a logical place to start. She opened the first file.

So as her escort stood outside her lab, she sat inside listening to the tunes on Rodney's laptop reading the files, before she even touched the panel.

"This is going to take a while," she sighed.

* * *

TWO MONTHS LATER

It had taken a while but a wraith ship had discovered that Atlantis was not destroyed and was now employed in a fierce battle just above the city. The Daedalus had been launched the second the ship had come on their short range sensors. It was on full alert with the X-303's and puddle jumpers, darting around the sky in defence of the city.

Rodney was at the control panel, doing his best to guide the Daedalus to the weakest part of the Wraith ship, while trying to prevent the city's shield from failing, while Zelenka focussed on everything else. Rodney was not having much luck with the wraith ship.

"Target the underside of the ship. It's where their propulsion system lays," Rodney instructed Colonel Caldwell who was at the helm of the Daedalus.

"You sure?" Caldwell questioned him.

"Of course I'm sure," Rodney said annoyed.

"You said that about the sub-light engines and look how much that worked."

"I'm definitely sure," Rodney reassured him.

Caldwell ordered the crewmen to fire at the under belly of the ship. The Daedalus threw everything she had at it, and every missile hit the shield and exploded.

"McKay!" Caldwell screamed angrily.

"I'm working on it," Rodney said almost panicked.

While Rodney was working Janine entered, with her escort behind her. "What do you need?"

"I need more hands," Rodney said off hand.

"What can I do?" she asked.

Rodney looked to Weir who was standing out of the way. She had learnt early on never to get in the way of Rodney when he was working. It never helped. She knew what he was asking. He wanted permission for her to use the computers. She knew that she was possibly the best technician they had other than Rodney and Zelenka and right now, they needed her. She nodded to Rodney and gave him permission.

"J, keep an eye on the Daedalus systems. You probably know them best. Keep this between here, and here," he said showing her on the screen what he was referring to. She nodded and started typing. Rodney got back to his computer and frantically typed away on his pad, desperately looking for a weakness.

Meanwhile, the Daedalus was having problems of its own. It was forced to offensive measures to avoid the wraith fire.

"McKay, one of your brilliant ideas would be useful right about now," Caldwell quipped. But the stress in his voice was very clear.

"I've got it!" Rodney screamed. "On the left hand side by the main engines, their shield is weaker. Hit it with everything you have and you will be able to break through it, and hopefully blow up its engines," Rodney said rather pleased with himself.

However, Caldwell didn't even get the chance to give the order before Janine screamed out.

"Wait!" She grabbed the microphone from Rodney and talked to Caldwell. "Colonel you need to land. Right now!" she said almost ordering him.

"Why?" Rodney asked, rushing over to her computer to see what she had seen.

"There is a virus in the computer system that is going to shut all systems down, including engines. Stephen, you MUST land," she insisted once again.

"She's right. It'll take out all systems," Rodney agreed.

"We can't get back to Atlantis," Caldwell pointed out.

"I know," she said as she pointed to something on the screen to Rodney. "I've sent information about suitable landing areas on the mainland."

Caldwell looked to his lieutenant on his right hand side, who nodded in agreement and starts to direct the ship to the mainland. The Daedalus makes a sharp turn and heads to the mainland, with the wraith ship on its tail.

"Order your fighters to land close to you, the virus will also affect them," she instructed him.

"We're open for attack on the ground," he told her.

"Let me deal with that. You just get to the ground," Janine said confidently as she typed on the computer. She moved from one computer to the other, moving Rodney out of the way, trying to solve the problem in front of her.

The Daedalus manoeuvred itself into position and carefully landed, turning off most of its systems as it was instructed to do so by Janine. The fighters landed in a circle around the Daedalus. The wraith ship positioned itself in range of the Daedalus.

"Janine!" Caldwell urged her.

"One minute," she insisted.

"We don't have that. Arm weapons," he instructed

"No! Don't," Janine begged. Caldwell thought about it for a moment before cancelling the order. Just at the moment, the ship seems to die, with all its systems cutting off. The Wraith virus had infected the ship.

"The wraith ship is arming its weapons," Rodney warned her as she was working on the other computer.

"Got it!" Janine shouted. The Daedalus crew prepared to be fired upon, only to find that their shield had stopped them, and in fact had increased its field to include the fighters on the ground. The virus needed a little bit of energy to survive, and Janine had used it to get the energy required to power the shields.

But Janine was still at work. It didn't take the ship long to notice that it was not causing any damage, and she was typing quickly. Rodney peered over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" he enquired.

"An 'Independence Day'," she explained.

"A what?" Weir asked from the background.

"She's sending the wraith ship a virus. It won't work. I've told you that for years."

"I agree," Zelenka added. "There is no guarantee what the virus will attack. It's too unpredictable."

"I would normally agree, apart from I know exactly what systems it will attack," she said dismissing them both and continuing with her plans.

"How can you say that?" Rodney asked.

"Because I'm sending them their own virus," she explained annoyed. Rodney thought for a moment before he answered.

"That might actually work," Rodney said almost surprised.

"Rodney?" Weir asked.

"She is sending the virus they used to attack the Daedalus, back to them. They must have tested it on their own systems to make sure it worked. If we just change the calibrations slightly, it will do the same effect on their ship," Rodney explained to Weir.

"God damn it!" Janine shouted. Rodney came rushing over to her. "Their systems are harder to get into than I thought. I need to buy a little time." Janine looked to Weir, who looked extremely concerned.

"What?"

"I need some time, to adjust this. Time the Daedalus doesn't have. I need you to stall them," Janine explained.

"And how exactly am I meant to do that?"

"Call them. Rodney can you hail them?" she asked her brother.

"I've never tried," Rodney admitted.

"Well, now here's your chance. Dr Weir, I only need a few minutes." She didn't really wait for a reply, as Rodney had already attempted to contact the wraith. Soon they got an answer.

"Who is this?" a wraith said across the tannoy.

"This is Dr Elizabeth Weir leader of this expedition here in Atlantis. Who am I speaking to?" she asked trying to sound strong, but all could hear the nervousness in her voice.

"I am Andreus, commander of this ship. I will not negotiate. I will destroy you all!" he laughed. Weir looked at Janine who signalled for her to continue.

"We don't want to negotiate; I want to give you one chance to leave before we destroy everyone on your ship," she threatened. Janine gave a thumbs up.

"No way. The Wraith do not negotiate. You have nothing we want to negotiate for," he said defiantly.

"Apart from food," Rodney quipped, luckily he wasn't over the microphone so Andreus did not hear him.

"I thought as much," Elizabeth answered, knowing the virus had been sent.

"You will pay…" the voice cut off mid sentence. It was a clear sign that the virus had been successfully sent. The ship had lost all its power to its engines, and was making its way down towards the ground, gathering speed. Janine gave a huge sigh of relief. She gave Rodney a hug, but as she looked over her shoulder she noticed something on the radar. She broke off the hug and went back to the computer. She tracked the wraith ships descent and projected that it would land right on top of the Daedalus. She was not the only one; Caldwell had also noticed the ship heading his way.

"Janine," he called to her.

"Be advised, the wraith ship will be descending on top of you," Janine informed him.

"Be advised! What do you mean 'Be advised'? That ship will destroy us if it lands on us!"

"Hold steady. Your shields will hold… trust me." Janine insisted. Once again, Caldwell was forced to trust Janine, but so far she had not done anything to question his judgement (unlike Rodney, who on many occasions showed himself to be less than perfect.) So he sat. It wasn't like they had time to move away anyway. It takes a good few minutes for the systems to become up and running again, and take off takes about five minutes. But he was worried about the fighters outside. So was John Sheppard who was in one of the grounded fighters.

"Atlantis, what is going on?" he asked.

"Hold on tight Colonel, this may be a bit bumpy," Weir advised him.

Janine and Rodney typed the fastest anyone had ever seen them do. They were desperately trying to increase the power to the shields. They diverted all power except life support to the shields, hoping it would be enough. The result if they failed was something they couldn't contemplate.

The Daedalus crew watched as the ship grew ever closer. The crew on the command room look to Caldwell, who did nothing. He had to trust that Janine and Rodney would figure this one out. The ship was now in flames and hurtling towards the ground.

"Hold on," Caldwell advised the crew as impact was imminent. It was a good thing that he announced it then, as the first part of the wraith ship hit the Daedalus. The crew were knocked off their feet, sparks were flying, and everything went dark.

In Atlantis, it was an agonising wait for the Daedalus to be able to respond, with Rodney and Janine begging that they managed it. After what appeared to be a few hours, but was in fact a few minutes, they heard a very welcome voice.

"Atlantis this is Caldwell, we are all safe. The shields held," he informed them. There was a huge sigh of relief all over Atlantis, but none more so than that of Janine and Rodney who slumped in the chairs closest to them. But Elizabeth had another worry.

"Colonel, what about the fighters on the ground?"

"I have not had any contact from them yet," Caldwell explained.

"Colonel Sheppard, this is Weir, please respond," she announced over the radio, in hope. But she received nothing.

"John?" she almost begged.

"I'm here Elizabeth," the welcome voice of Sheppard announced over the radio. Elizabeth was almost over-come with joy.

"It's good to hear your voice again Colonel," she said returning to formalities. "And the rest of the fighters?"

"They're all here too. Janine?" Sheppard asked.

"Yeah?" She said nervously.

"Good job. We heading home now." Sheppard said as he started up his engines again, and headed off back to Atlantis along with the other pilots.

* * *

Please review! I'll get the next instalment up soon! Thanks Snowflake Shona! 


	2. Chapter 2

**Big Brother – Chapter 2**

Caldwell had been ferried back to Atlantis, with the Daedalus currently stuck on the mainland with just its basic systems – life support, communication – running. He only had one person that he wanted to see. He stormed into her new lab.

"Janine!" Caldwell shouted as he walked straight up to her.

"Hello to you to Colonel," she quipped.

"That was a little too close for comfort," he said. Janine looked at him, and then her eyes flashed behind him. He turned round to see that Rodney was also in the room. Rodney held his arms up in surrender, and turned back to what ever he was doing.

"I'm sorry. I didn't look at the wind direction; if I had I may have noticed the wind would blow the ship your way. But at the time, it didn't occur to me," she explained.

"It didn't occur to you? Janine, my whole entire crew could have been killed."

"You whine like a mule. You are still alive," she said and walked off. Rodney sniggered in the background.

"What?"

"Robin Hood Prince of Thieves quote," he explained. Caldwell rolled his eyes and left the laboratory.

"Well I thought it was funny," Rodney said to the empty room.

ONE MONTH ON…

It had taken a while for Janine to settle into Atlantis, but after three months she truly felt that she was one of the team. She had lost her escort, and was able to choose her own sleeping quarters. Many were surprised that she didn't choose one near Rodney, until she asked them, would they want to live next door to him? She had been socialising with some of the crew, and learnt a lot about what had been going on, and the suspicions people had.

She had been given access to certain files, and was able to read up on the wraith. The limited files that she 'borrowed' from Rodney had given her some information, but there was nothing on the background of these creatures, something that interested her. She had also been learning about the different planets that they had discovered and the friends and enemies they had made. The enemies were certainly more exciting than the friends. The Genii intrigued her, as despite fighting on the same side, they made an enemy out the of Atlantis team. It she thought it showed a sort of arrogance where by they felt they didn't need them. She guessed that it was not the last time Atlantis would see the Genii again.

Elizabeth had invited Janine to a meeting with Rodney and Sheppard, along with Elizabeth herself. It was unusual for her to be invited to meetings as she was not an important member of staff, but Elizabeth had insisted. Janine guessed that it must be a review of her findings so far. She had done much on the panel, but was currently stuck. She knew she needed something, she was just unsure what.

She had her file in hand, along with the laptop Rodney had lent her to use. She was a little nervous. It was the first time she had been in a meeting, and they would all be focused on what she has found. It was quite nerve-racking. But what worried her, apart from the nerves, was that she was unable to reactive the panel. But this was it.

"Janine, could you please come in," Elizabeth said inviting her in. Janine took a deep breath and entered the conference room. Sheppard and Rodney were sitting down with an empty seat in the middle, where Elizabeth moved back round to sit in. There was a single chair opposite them, where Janine sat herself. She placed the laptop on the side, and then got the file she had and passed copies to the three.

"So, what can you tell us about the panel?" Elizabeth asked looking at the file in her hands.

"Quite a lot really. It seems to be of similar design to the other ones already discovered around Atlantis, with the main control panel the same as the others. It made it a lot easier to navigate my way round the systems. I have problems translating some of the text, as it contained words that could only be roughly translated, with thanks to Dr Weir, but it means that I don't get the exact meaning, just a rough indication. I also learnt that the panel was once part of the set in the main control room, which would seem to me like it was very important to the ancients. The panel contains a crystal that none of the others seem to have." She clicked something on the laptop, and a diagram of the crystal appeared on the screen, spinning with information coming off of it. "This crystal seems to hold all the information required to operate the panel, and once attached to a power supply, I learnt a lot more about the panel's use."

"So what does it do?" Sheppard asked, his file on the desk, unopened.

"It seems to be connected to the systems such as the shield, communications, and defence. The crystal also holds information about the city's operating systems, and layout."

"So it's an advanced instruction manual?" Sheppard asked.

"No, much more than that. The programme requires this information to run. I think this program acts like our own personal ancient. I think, when it is fully functional it can help us when ever we require information about the city, and hopefully, as a defence system." With this comment, John raised an eyebrow.

"So when can we turn it on?" Elizabeth asked excitedly.

"Unfortunately, I have no idea how to get it to work. I have tried every technique available, and used the expertise of Rodney and Zelenka, and I still cannot activate the system. It's like something is missing. I just can't figure out what."

"How much time do you need to figure it out?" Elizabeth enquired.

"I'm afraid I've exhausted all information."

"Maybe, it needs to be connected to the other systems. Needing their systems to be able to operate," Rodney suggested.

"I thought of that, but when I looked at the operating systems, it didn't appear to require anything else. However, I was going to suggest that, as I have nothing else I can do on it. Maybe something will automatically activate once connected," Janine replied.

"If you believe that to be the next step, I grant permission to attach it to the system."

"If it does what you say, it will be very useful," Sheppard added.

"Yeah, I will be able to finally find my way around this place without getting lost," Janine added. Elizabeth smiled.

"Thank you Janine. I will have the panel moved to the main control room where you can continue to work on it. Lets hope that you can work out what is missing. This may be the most important find in Atlantis," Elizabeth theorised.

Janine nodded and collected her things and left the conference room. As she walked, Rodney caught up with her.

"That was good work," Rodney said as he put his arm around her shoulders. "The first meeting is always the worst. They get easier."

"I hope so. I was so worried that I would say the wrong thing or go too fast," Janine said.

"You needn't worry about that. They are so used to me mumbling explanations that they would easily hear you!" Rodney quipped.

* * *

A/N - Sorry this is so short, but I will get back to this. This part has been on my computer for ages, so I thought I would add it. I am getting back to writing my fics, so keep watch for more updates.


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